


Stuck on You

by InsecureDolphin



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: F/F, Tj is mentioned, Walker isn’t in this sorry, the original characters are Amber’s parents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-05-18 03:28:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14844803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsecureDolphin/pseuds/InsecureDolphin
Summary: The slowburn of Ambi./or/The one where Andi writes ‘Amber’ on her hand twice, and Amber writes ‘Andi’ on her hand once.*changed the summary because it was bothering me





	1. Chapter 1

Andi and Amber have grown close over the summer after Amber threw a sleepover as a peace offering to make up for the last time — what would have been, had they not snuck out and the night hadn’t ended with Amber abandoning Andi on a Ferris wheel. Unlike their last sleepover, this one was successful. Nice, even. The best sleepover either girl has ever been to (granted, the amount of sleepovers both have attended was pretty low.)

Amber invited Andi but then extended the invitation to Buffy who couldn’t go, due to needing as much rest as possible because of an important basketball game the next day. Andi attended alone. Amber also invited Iris who politely declined, she was going to the museum with Cyrus the next day. She wanted to rest up instead of singing karaoke into the early hours of the morning, though any other time she would have been over within fifteen minutes regardless of living over forty five minutes away and would’ve brought her karaoke system since Amber never got one.

Andi showed up early enough. Her phone read 7:00pm. In the upper corner, her battery glowed bright red. She puts her phone away and mentally kicks herself for forgetting her charger, she was in a rush because the sleepover was spontaneously sprung on her just an hour before she arrived at the address Amber texted her.

“She should be down soon.” Mr. Clark smiled softly. He sported a five o’ clock shadow and unkempt brown hair that shone light blond under the lowlight of the main hallway. Dark circles lined under his eyes.

Andi smiled back graciously.

Silence followed and lasted what seemed like an eternity. Andi couldn’t help but fiddle with her bracelet. It was new. She made it this morning. Earlier this month, Bowie handed over a box the size of Andi’s head which held within it a few weeks’ worth of brand new materials for crafts. It was a gift from Lexi, Miranda’s daughter. Andi and Bex met her when it was clear Bowie was getting serious about his and Miranda’s relationship. Both of the Mack girls agreed Lexi was the absolute sweetest. Miranda was affirmed to be nice too. Bex insisted she was fine with the arrangement. Bowie managed to divide his time equally between both girls. All of his girls, really. He and Bex still hung out occasionally.

Since being given the additional supplies, Andi had been working away at making different kinds of bracelets and anything else that could challenge her abilities and build up her skills. She managed to fit the box into one half of her suitcase while the other half held her pajamas, a change of clothes for tomorrow, a plastic baggie for her toothbrush and toothpaste and floss, and a small sketchbook and small pack of markers already open. Andi planned on bringing a few activities for her and Amber to do, and since the blonde had never done any crafts, tonight would be the night.

Mr. Clark scratched the back of his neck, peering hopefully up the stairs. He hadn’t said much to Andi since her arrival but that was more than she got from Mrs. Clark. Amber’s mom simply opened the door, asked who Andi was, ushered her inside promptly after being told and then high tailed it back to a room at the other end of the hallway and swiftly shut the door behind her. The lock clicked in place almost immediately. It could be her office, Andi never was told what Amber’s parents did for work. Then again, her dad isn’t working these days. Probably not the best time to ask what he does...or did.

It only took another ten minutes before Amber skipped downstairs finally to take Andi away from the awkward silence that surrounded her and Mr. Clark. He shouted up at them that he would bring up snacks for them in a little while. Amber assured him they were fine, she could handle it.

The stairs led up to another long hallway with four rooms stretching out in front of them, two on either side. The second room on the left had “Amber” spelled in magenta holographic ballooned letters. Amber rushed in front of Andi only to open the door for her guest.

“After you.” Amber gestured grandly for Andi to enter before her.

“Why thank you!” Andi grinned.

The pastel purple walls are plastered with posters of bands and movies and shows. Some Andi recalls and approves of, but one poster of a web series especially sticks out.

“No way!” Andi turned on her heel. “You watch Illyria Vampiric High too?”

“You know it?” Amber suppressed a grin, her eyebrows furrowed. Andi nodded emphatically.

“Join Carmyn Eripmav and her four best friends,” Andi said dramatically, standing suddenly as straight as a post with her hands on her hips.

“On the journey that will outlive your lifetime!” Amber couldn’t contain her excitement.  
Both girls now stand by side, in heroic poses, brooding.

“The five will attend Illyria High where they pose as everyday students rather than your friendly neighborhood vampires, and a mix up has Carmyn posing as a male student that never made orientation.”

Amber broke character first, squealing and grabbing both of Andi’s hands while hopping up and down. “Omg, did you see the season five trailer?”

“Of course!” Andi beamed before taking on a seriousness and turning to brood at the wall opposite of them both. “This summer, Carmyn is unmasked as a girl and a vampire, her long lost half brother Maksim returns from Van Helsing boot camp on a personal mission to hunt down her and her friends, and one by one students have been going missing. The stakes are high —”

“— at Illyria Vampiric High!” Amber and Andi said together, smiling wide.

Overwhelmed by their excitement for the new season, the two girls ended up binge watching all four seasons until 11:00pm. During episode thirty two of season three, Andi’s stomach grumbled in time with the monstrous lightning that pealed across the stormy gray skies over Illyria High. Amber had been close enough to hear it though. She went to her closet and returned a minute later with two cold waters and snacks galore.

“I have a mini fridge,” Amber said after seeing Andi’s confusion.

The haul ranged from cookies to breakfast bars, gummies to trail mix, chips to pretzel crisps.

“I didn’t know what you would like.” Amber explained the array of options slightly overwhelming Andi.

The two started off with the junk food first and moved to the healthier snacks during the second part of the season three finale. After four episodes of season four were consumed, the computer was shut off. Still enduring a sugar high from the cookies, Andi suggested they make each other bracelets. Amber, experiencing the crash from her sugar high, decided they could save the crafts for another time and apologized that the first and only activity of her sleepover was marathoning a web series both of them had seen a million times already.

Andi didn’t regret watching at least three seasons of Illyria Vampiric High all the way through, but she was starting to regret eating too many of those cookies. Still not feeling tired just yet, she wanted to do one more thing before they slept. Amber couldn’t stop yawning but agreed to at least stay up to talk.  
They stayed up for another two hours. Sharing their funniest stories. Showing each other their favorite vine compilations and pausing every other vine to test their memory, they made a game of it. Amber won. Andi couldn’t believe she had missed so many.

A beep resonated from Andi’s pocket. She was met with an almost black screen and 5% battery staring back at her. She didn’t want to ask, especially since Amber had provided so much already, but she couldn’t risk not having a phone all night. If Bex called and she didn’t answer, next she would call the number Andi left in case of emergency: Amber’s house phone. Which wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t already so late. With the way Mrs. Clark acted earlier, there’s no way she would want to be bothered with a phone call at 3:00am from a worried mother asking if her daughter is okay and still there. With how unwilling Mr. Clark is to give more than a few sentences, he would surely let the phone ring until his wife picked it up.

“Hey,” Andi whispered over the movie. They decided to put on Beauty and the Beast. The girls had discovered they both were diehard Disney fans. “Do you have a charger I can borrow?”

Amber knitted her eyebrows at first, brought over her own phone that was plugged in and checked its battery. 10% remained.

“Oh it’s okay, I don’t really need it that bad —” Andi couldn’t finish her sentence before a click sounded and Amber set aside her phone, still holding the cord for the charger, and with her other hand waited for Andi to hand over her dying phone.

“It’s fine. Iris is asleep already, and I’m sure Jonah is too busy watching the newest compilation of Ultimate Frisbee tips and tricks to text this late. Besides, your mom would be worried sick if you didn’t respond.” Amber stretched her hand out further for Andi’s phone which was handed over finally after some hesitation.

“You don’t have to,” Andi said.

“Of course I do.” Amber turned back after plugging in Andi’s phone. “I’m the host. But I also want to.”

The night ended with them falling asleep at the foot of Amber’s bed at 2:00am, Andi’s head on Amber’s shoulder and Amber’s head against Andi’s. Bex only texted twice during Beauty and the Beast. Once to ask if they were still at Amber’s house, reminding that she didn’t want to make another trip down to the police station. Then a second time to ask if Andi was having fun, to which Andi responded with “YES! I’m having the best time :D”

The girls started another movie and made it halfway through before passing out. In the morning, they deeply regretted sleeping on the floor. Neither complained about falling asleep against each other.

One week later the bracelets were finally made. Amber never took hers off, it was a pretty thick wrap and had a pattern of different pinks that Andi quite liked and thought fit Amber nicely. Andi often wore hers or at least carried it with her in her pocket, it was about the width of two of her most slender fingers and had a pattern of blue, magenta, and pink. Amber said she liked the colors together and apologized if they clashed with each other. Andi thanked her for it and insisted they didn’t.

Since that weekend in April, the two became friends and their friendship only strengthened over the summer. Now it’s almost time to go back to school and here Andi sits in the Andi Shack, testing markers for the mysterious project Amber was planning that required markers of specific shades.

Andi tests over ten different red markers until she finds one that’s close to “a subtle red, but not faint either”.

Tossing the chosen one into the plastic container she plans to hand over to Amber for borrowing, Andi leans back in her chair and stretches her arms above her head.

“Looks like,” Andi releases a yawn she quickly stifles. “I’ve earned myself a break.”

Nearly a hundred markers cover her desk and the couch at the far back of her shack. Dozens upon dozens of unique colors, tens of different shades. Her eyes find a simple black marker. Andi picks it up and turns over a memory in her head.

‘Hey, this is like the one Amber used on Jonah’s hand. Also that one guy’s hand, who turned out to be the guy she cheated on Jonah with...’ Andi thought.

The blonde profusely apologized to Jonah days before he helped her come up with the idea to invite Andi and Buffy to a sleepover. They’re good friends now. He’s forgiven the incident. Amber still has downcast eyes every time anyone mentions the words “cheat/cheater/cheating” in a sentence, which is hard to avoid when the Good Hair Crew gets together to play Monopoly on their annual Friday Game Nights. Jonah and Amber have become apart of the crew and have been invited to every GHC outing or occasion.

Andi twirls the marker in one hand, her other holds the cap. ‘What did she write again?’

An idea came to her in the form of an action. She uncapped the marker and drew a heart on the lower right corner of her left palm, toward the heel of her hand. Then she scrawled Amber just underneath the heart.

It wasn’t exactly what the blonde had written but close enough. Andi smiled triumphantly at her near perfect recreation. Setting aside the marker, now capped, she traces the letters of her friend’s name on her palm. Seconds turn into minutes and she finds herself still staring.  
Determining her break over, she returns to picking out a shade of yellow that’s “bright but not glaring”. Though every time she picks up a new marker or tosses another in the reject pile she glances quickly at the name in her palm. At first a few quick glances slows her pace with testing out the markers, then a few more glances has her tossing aside markers she hadn’t even tested yet, and a few more glances have her forgetting which ones she may have tested already. Finally she’s picking up a pink marker out of the red shade division and is surprised... until she realizes she’s mixed up her piles.

‘When did that happen?’

Fifteen minutes later she’s staring at her palm again. Her eyes can’t seem to find interest in anything else. The name under the heart has hers beating faster than it did earlier when she had to heave the heavy box of markers down from the attic and out to the shack.

Her face burns from embarrassment. She can’t decide on what’s worse: realizing too late she used a permanent marker, or writing her friend’s name underneath the doodle of a heart on her hand.

‘Both,’ Andi decides. ‘Both are bad. So, so bad.’

She furrows her eyebrows, muttering to herself, “Why did I do this?”


	2. Chapter 2

“Ooh — we should invite Tj to our next movie night!” Cyrus says over the back of the couch while he and Jonah drag it across the room.

“Um, no?” Buffy raises one eyebrow, half a smirk appearing on her face. “Only members of the Good Hair Crew are allowed. Look, I’m even repeating that stupid name you stuck us with. Tj is fine but we can invite him to some other event.”

“Yeah! One that’s not so _exclusive_.” Andi says, mocking how highly Buffy talks of their group and every event that takes place at any of their houses.

Sunday night means the entire Good Hair Crew hole up in the Mack residence while Bex and Bowie are out to dinner. Andi offered to watch Lexi or even invite her over to the oh-so-special Good Hair Crew Sunday movie night but Miranda declined, she likes Bex and trusts Bowie. The two were only going out for their annual friend dinner. Besides, Miranda wanted to spend some time with her daughter who seems to be growing up too fast.

“I’m ordering us a pizza.” Andi grabs her phone before stepping into the kitchen.

“Make one half —”

“Chicken with spinach,” Andi cut off Amber, who didn’t mind since her order had been guessed correctly.

Jonah makes a face at the request. Amber throws one of the small couch pillows in his direction.

“Ooh! I’ll make the popcorn.” Cyrus rises off his seat, a couch pillow on the floor placed just beside the coffee table.

“We’re getting pizza, Cy.” Jonah reminds.

“You can’t have a movie without popcorn!” Buffy says, her voice slightly raised. Her eyes wide at the implication that one tasty snack booted out another.

Amber makes a face. “I don’t know, I’m with Jonah on this one. We shouldn’t have more than we can eat.”

Buffy and Cyrus chuckle.

“Buffy and I can polish off an entire pizza pie and each devour half a bowl of popcorn.” Cyrus says, looking proud of himself and his friend.

Buffy nods. “It’s true. We spot each other. I eat more than he does of the pizza, but whatever’s leftover goes to him.”

“And I pride myself on finishing those last three slices. I barely need to use the garlic sauce to get most of it down.” Cyrus turns in to the kitchen finally, passing Andi on her way out. She just finished her phone call with the pizza place.

“They’ll be here in fifteen.” Andi plops down beside Amber on the couch. She kicks her feet up on the table.

“Your friends are insane, by the way.” Amber says.

Andi rolls her eyes, “ _Our_ friends.”

A small smile spreads across Amber’s face before she corrects herself. “Our friends are insane.”

Jonah nods.

Andi looks between them, confused.

“Cyrus just went in to the kitchen to pop popcorn.” Jonah explains finally.

“Ooh!” Andi smiles before her eyes widen. “Wait! Cyrus, is there enough butter?”

Cyrus hums to himself, thinking. After a moment, “I can manage.”

Andi falls back into her seat, expelling a huge, relieved breath. Amber and Jonah exchange glances and laugh at their friends’ love for food. They weren’t foodies themselves but they knew what they liked, so they understood how it can be.

Everyone is sprawled out on one side of the living room while the other is clear of all furniture and wall decor so a Marvel movie could be projected onto the wall. Buffy and Cyrus are in deep conversation about their superhero inspired costumes for Halloween, Buffy is working on her Shuri while Cyrus is gathering items for his Doctor Strange and Jonah completely derails the conversation when he mentions wanting to dress up as Shazam.

“That’s DC!” Both Buffy and Cyrus shout, appalled.

Jonah nods, smirking.

Amber laughs before shooting a concerned look at Andi’s hand.

Andi had spent a whole hour scrubbing away at her palm but to no avail, so she went with plan b.

“How’s your hand?” Amber asks, eyebrows furrowed.

Andi adjusts the gauze. “I already said I’m fine.”

She couldn’t deny she was touched Amber was so concerned for her, it made sense to fuss over a friend’s injury but that kind of fussing could be interpreted in a number of ways. Andi felt selfish for thinking that but it was the other girl’s fault really; she never failed to fuss over her the way Jonah would often fuss over Cyrus, and the group already has so many theories about those two.

“You don’t exactly need that much gauze for a paper cut, Andi.” Amber stays staring down at the hand.

“Did I say it was a paper cut? Because I don’t remember saying that. And it’s honestly nothing.” Andi, feeling self conscious now, tucks her hand away. “Bex and Bowie said it wasn’t that serious but Cece insisted I cover it up. She didn’t want it to get infected.”

Jonah looks back at them, overhearing the conversation. “What was it again you said happened to it?”

Andi desperately tries to remember. “I pinched myself with a marker?” She said slowly.

“How do you pinch yourself with a marker?” Buffy asks, skeptical.

“You could cap it too close to your hand,” Cyrus, for better gesture, caps a pen too close to his hand and nips his palm. He sucks in a breath while shaking out his hand. He just wanted to mime how it could be done.

“You okay, Cyrus?” Jonah asks immediately. Cyrus nods, continuing to shake out his hand.

Buffy shrugs off how sheepish Andi looks and steals the bowl of popcorn from Jonah, sparking a playful feud for it which Cyrus has to mediate.

The pizza arrives finally and conversation has moved to how cheesy and cliche any film from the early 2000s’ was, which prompted a film of that time to be put on immediately.

Andi could feel a certain someone staring into her still. She swallows hard and forces herself to meet the pair of green eyes that focus on her, so much worry fills them.

Andi offers the last slice of chicken and spinach pizza. Amber hesitantly accepts, still uneasy.

“You know you can talk to me, right?” Amber says quietly to not disturb the others.

“I’m fine! Promise.” Andi reassures, her smile so forced she feels the corner of her mouth twitch.

Amber doesn’t seem satisfied but goes back to the movie, making sure to spare a few glances in Andi’s direction over the course of the next hour just in case the dark haired girl finally felt like sharing. But nothing ever came of that except brief eye contact and the smallest smiles exchanged.


	3. Chapter 3

Andi shows up to school on Monday, hand still securely wrapped in gauze. The heart is almost broken up down the middle and the name of a certain somebody is almost completely faded. Almost. The gauze was just a precaution against anyone who could still make out what was written, which wasn’t hard to do since ten sessions of aggressive hand washing still hadn’t completely erased it. By now Andi had sworn off ever again using markers on her skin, even washable ones, and she has a newfound hate for gauze. The freak eighty degree weather in September only made matters worse.

Buffy rises off the curb in front of the school entrance. “Finally! What took you so—” she eyes the gauze curiously. “How long is Cece making you wear that? If no blood was drawn, I don’t think a pinch warrants that much gauze for this long.”

Andi laughs. “It’s not so bad! She cares, is all.”

“If she really cared, she would have sent you off to school with a band aid instead. Seriously! It’s ninety degrees out. That has to be insanely itchy and hot.” Buffy shakes her head, eyeing the gauze.

“It’s weirdly not warm or itchy in the slightest.” Andi shrugs, frowning. She secretly picks at the edges of the gauze. Lifting and stretching for some air.

Buffy looks as if she’s about to ask how that’s possible before closing her mouth and turning toward the entrance of the school. Andi follows, suddenly feeling a fierce itch spread through her palm.

*

Once the bell rings, signaling lunch, Andi rushes out of English. She gets to the restroom just as two girls leave. She checks under every stall and once the bathroom is deemed empty, the gauze comes off. With her palm now a splotchy red due to the heat and excessive scratching, what’s left of the name appears in bold but half the heart is fainter. The gauze is frayed from being stretched, scratched, and is beyond damp with sweat. It’s discarded into the bin by the sinks.

After a ten minute hand wash, the name is a lot fainter and the heart is only present as a disconnected grunge v.

“Andi, there’s only fifteen minutes left for lunch.” Buffy enters the bathroom.

Andi quickly tosses her used paper towel in the bin and clenches her marked hand into a fist.

Buffy notices the hand without gauze. “Let me guess. Even though, realistically, it should take two seconds to remove gauze. You stayed in here for twelve minutes regretting your rebellion. Don’t worry, we’ll just get some gauze from the nurse before —”

“Buffy...” Andi hesitantly pulls her clenched fist up to her chest, hugging that arm. “I did something stupid.”

Buffy’s face takes on the most concerned expression Andi’s ever seen. “What is it? Are you okay?”

Andi takes a cautious step forward, slowly opening her hand to Buffy.

*

Within fifteen minutes, three tries at reapplying the coconut oil when it was clear a generous amount was necessary, and two towels discarded into the hamper, Andi’s hand was finally free of both the heart and Amber’s name. She sits on her bed, her back to the headboard.

Buffy had agreed to help Andi erase her mistake even if she wouldn’t say why she did it. But she never agreed to walk away after helping, still without an answer. Andi knew she would have to tell her friend the truth. But what was that exactly...?

The area just beside her dips with newly added weight. Andi refuses to look Buffy in the eye, she hugs her pillow and stares ahead at nothing.

“Andi.” Buffy is met with only silence.

She sighs. Placing her hand on the other girl’s back, she gently massages circles into it.

“Don’t.” Andi finally gathers the courage to look at her friend. “Please don’t. I know you’re going to ask about it, but I don’t have an answer for you.”

Buffy’s eyebrows knit together. “ _I_ don’t need to know why you did it...I just hope _you_  know why.”

She takes the hand closest to her, gives it a small squeeze, and moves toward the door. But before leaving, Buffy casts a glance behind her.

“Hey Andi?”

The other girl looks up from her pillow.

“Whatever it is, you can always tell me anything. Any of us. We’re your friends and family. There’s no judgment here. Ever.” With that, Buffy steps out before ading one more thing, “You’ll still be Andi.”

Andi knew it was pointless hiding anything from Buffy. Especially since Cyrus had confided in Buffy before coming to her and several months before he told everyone else (all of his friends accepted him because — duh!; most of the kids at school are okay with it; his parents are still adjusting) it was now another radar Buffy had besides the one she could detect lies with. In this situation, those two radars together can detect something about Andi she can’t even understand yet. That’s terrifying.

Her pillow is set aside and she stares at her smooth palm. Free of marker...free of a certain someone’s name... She feels embarrassed that she misses it. Especially when it wasn’t even real. Why does she look at it that way? It had been scrawled in permanent marker. Thick, bold black ink, though dainty in penmanship, that stayed for two and a half days. How could it not have been real?

“Because I wrote it.” Andi says without thinking. Her face burns at the implication of what that means for her. She knows it’s possible to like boys _and_ girls, but she’s only ever liked boys. How could that change all the sudden? How could one person change that?

Andi was tempted to talk to her mom about this. After all, there was another toaster tarts box she found a little while ago while helping Bex spring clean — well, really, Andi began it and Bex felt guilty for letting her daughter clean the whole house. The two made a game of it that helped the time go quicker. When Andi picked up what she thought was an empty toaster tarts box, a photo slipped out. It wasn’t of Gabriel, the toxic ex, this time. Bex was sat on a curb with her arm thrown around another woman’s shoulders. The two looked to be sitting outside a 7/Eleven, both appeared to be in their late teens. The other girl, who had wavy long brown hair, curled into Bex’s side, smiling sweetly. It looked innocent enough. It didn’t appear to be anything more than two friends sitting on the curb outside a convenient store late at night...so then why go to such lengths to hide it? Then carelessly drop it behind the washing machine? Did she forget about it? Was it easy to forget?

Andi is brought back to the present by a knock at her door.

”Andi, dinner’s on the table.”

“Wow! That was fast.” Andi can’t even think about what she’s saying because she’s hoping against hope her mom doesn’t open her bedroom door. She tucks her hand away behind her just in case.

”I know! Starting to think in case of emergency you should just call and order take-out.” Bex pauses. “You coming?”

”I’ll be out in a minute.” Andi’s heart is beating so fast. But then she remembers there isn’t anything on her hand anymore. Why was she hiding it?

”Okay.” Bex hesitates before walking back to the kitchen.

Andi flops back onto her pillow with a sigh. Staring down at her palm, she can’t help but wish for what she wrote to reappear. Wish it had been real. A real one would have been written by Amber herself. In her own handwriting. Her own format. Did Andi want that?

Why did she want that?

Before she can even register what she’s doing, Andi’s pulled up Facepage.

A few more knocks. ”Andi!”

”Okay!” She carefully closes her computer enough so that nobody can see the profile she pulled up.


	4. Chapter 4

It’s Friday and the Spoon is at full capacity, there’s a line straight out the door today. At the front of the restaurant sits the Good Hair Crew, they make conversation about the crowd while they wait on their tater tots and burgers.

“I haven’t seen it like this since the holidays. Is today a holiday I didn’t know about?” Cyrus says.

Buffy pulls out her phone. It only takes a minute, she frowns thoughtfully at the information she’s found. “According to Google it’s Star Trek day.”

“Ah.” Jonah laughs lightly. “That makes sense now.”

Everyone stares.

“They’re showing all of season one at the theater, today only.”

“This says that the first episode aired 52 years ago today.”

“Does it also say the series was supposed to be cancelled during season one? Because it could’ve been, but Lucille Ball stepped in and saved it.” Jonah says, reclining in his seat with a proud smile.

More stares.

Jonah frowns. “What? My mom’s a Trekkie.” 

“Wow, that’s um, interesting...Jonah...” Andi trails off. She looks through the crowd, eyes darting everywhere for something in particular. She sighs when she resigns to never finding it and faces the table again,  shoulders slumped.

“Hey,” Buffy lightly touches Andi’s shoulder. She’s hunched over, so small, her fingers trailing along her kneecaps. She looks as if anything could crush her in that moment and she was preparing for exactly that. “Is everything okay?”

Andi doesn’t respond at first because she stares down distractedly. Eventually she looks up from her lap. “Yeah, it’s nothing. Just getting hungry.”

Jonah and Cyrus groan in agreement. But Buffy ignored her own stomach growling to inspect Andi’s loose fist on her lap. It’s pointedly held shut and the palm is facing her thigh.

After awhile of staring, Andi meets Buffy’s eyes. She doesn’t say anything but the look on her face says it all. It also makes sense that the girl has avoided using her non-dominant hand more than usual today. But why would she make the same mistake again? Was it a mistake? Buffy began to think her best friend wasn’t hiding anything from anyone else...only her. Maybe Andi planned on showing it off until Buffy agreed to tag along with them to the diner. It hadn’t been until then that Andi began acting weird. But then she did keep to herself on the way over, staying behind them by at least five feet. She said she wasn’t feeling well and had to go at a slower pace. Does she still have the pen?

Buffy stares so hard at Andi’s jacket pocket it was almost as if she was hoping to miraculously gain X-ray vision and peer through it. As if on cue, Andi shoves her hands into her jacket pockets. It’s subtle and quick but something poked through the front before disappearing as if it was slid up her sleeve. Buffy keeps staring. She was having a staring contest with a jacket. And she was winning. Andi shifts in her seat until she peels off her jacket, placing it in a disheveled heap on the seat next to her that faces the open aisle. Buffy wasn’t about to let this go.

“Excuse me, excuse me, sorry, excuse me, trying to get through here, excu— MOVE.” Amber makes her way through the crowd.

The blonde arrives at their table after cutting through a family of eight who’s put two tables together and the line out the door which almost didn’t budge. Her pen gripped tight in one hand and her notepad folded into a funnel in the other.

“Hey guys. I hope the wait wasn’t too long?” Amber unfolds her notepad quickly and already poises her pen over the paper.

“No, not at all!” Buffy shakes her head, a reassuring smile on her lips. “On an unrelated note, did you know these napkin holders can store up to a maximum of 65?”

Amber glances at the napkin holder on their table, brows furrowed. It was half empty and Amber’s wasn’t sure if Buffy truly counted them or was in the middle of doing so. 65 simply being a guesstimate. Or she could have been simply messing with her.

”Ours being the exception.” Cyrus’ right hand appears from underneath the table, a wad of semi soaked brown napkins sag unsightly. “My milkshake had a malfunction earlier. Apparently a tiny crack in the glass  _can_ be enough to eventually lose half of your Sundae Funday.”

Amber glances behind her at the crowd growing impatient every passing second. One table waves away their food as they walk out the door...try to, would be more accurate. The queue is only growing thicker as friends or family meet up with the person who was holding their place.

Small, constant beeping emits from Amber’s wrist. She turns back to the table, quieting her watch with the press of a button. “I only have twenty seconds for every table.”

“Oh, okay. That isn’t stressful at all.”

”Cyrus!” Amber’s eyes just about bulge out of her head.

”I’ll have the usual.” Cyrus says too quickly, Amber writes down his order even quicker.

“Same.” Jonah and Buffy say in unison.

Amber stares at Andi, eyebrows furrowed because she’s trying her best to wait for an order but the dark haired girl is quiet as she stares down at her hand laying on the table now. It’s not a fist anymore but it remains with palm face down. She’s inhaling through her nose and exhaling through her mouth.

”I don’t mean to rush you, Andi...” Just her voice grabs the dark haired girl’s attention.

Andi finds herself lost in Amber’s eyes. She never knew they were green. She never knew how wide they could get when the blonde was in a hurry. She never knew they could make her stomach twist, and while completely empty, it may as well have dropped into her ankles and disappeared to nothing. The longer she stared the softer the gaze became. Under this new stare, she could feel her hand involuntarily unfolding.

Soft skin gently brushes the back of Andi’s hand, slender fingers slide over her palm. “I can come back if you aren’t ready to order yet.”

The simple touch brings Andi back. She’s suddenly aware of all the other customers again. The hand Amber’s holding, which Andi promptly retracts despite relishing the contact. Her friends. Her _friends_.

All eyes are on Andi now. Cyrus clears his throat.

“Oh. Um.” Andi’s voice sounds so bizarre to her own ears after having spent so long not saying anything. “Oh. Um, the usual.”

Amber jots the order down.

“Wait! Actually...”

Amber crosses it out.

“Um. Never mind.”

Andi’s face burns as she watches the blonde rewrite the order under a mess of scribbles.

“Okay, I’ll have your order out in a minute.” Amber turns around and almost runs straight into the crowd. She turns back. “I’ll try.”

Her boss yells for her as unsupervised kids bombard the register. The smallest kids run right past her, their shoulders bumping her hips, and a soft click against the floor registers to Buffy before Amber can complain. A lightbulb goes off.

”If only one of us had a pen...” Buffy trails off, meeting an unbothered gaze.

Andi grabs her jacket, rummages through the pocket Buffy eyed earlier and brings out a red ballpoint pen. She stands and walks over to the blonde, dodging rowdy toddlers.

”I owe you one.” Amber takes the pen, her fingers brushing Andi’s palm slightly. The tingling sensation that set in after the exchange might have distracted from the fact her hand now lays open. It was realized too late. “Is that my name?”

Andi stammers out an explanation, when she can’t form a coherent one she settles on an apology. When her brain is too fuzzy to even do that, she’s left blushing incessantly and looking for a way out of the situation.

Amber’s called to help behind the counter. She tells a boy who looks to be around her age to give her a minute, then she turns back to Andi who’s as speechless and red as an actual tomato.

 _That’s it,_ Andi thinks. _I’m a tomato. A tomato with her friend’s name written on her hand just underneath a heart. A tomato that is about to be crushed by her crush. I’m a tomato who’s crushing on her friend._

“Can I see it?” Amber asks. She’s smiling. She doesn’t sound mad or embarrassed.

Slightly more encouraged, Andi holds up her hand. Her palm is facing up but it’s hidden by her fingers, Amber gently pulls them away from her palm. She takes in her name written in red ink and sloppy cursive, a tiny heart filled in just above. The claminess of Andi’s palm has smeared half the heart and the e and r but overall it’s still intact.

“Do you... like it?” Andi kicks herself for asking such a weird question. How is anyone supposed to answer that without feeling like they have to say something nice.

Despite the butterflies in her stomach dispersing at Amber meeting her gaze, Andi sees genuine happiness written on her friend’s face. She receives an emphatic nod, followed by hands clasping nervously at the front of her apron and downcast eyes that still seem to be ablaze with an emotion that’s completely lost on Andi.

”No one’s ever written my name on their hand before.”

”That can’t be true. I saw Jonah’s hand.”

”He let me write that. He didn’t willingly do it himself. I would always write it.” Amber fidgets with the red pen for awhile before uncapping it and writing something on her own hand.

”Amber! We need help on table seven, Chad will take care of the register.”

Amber pockets the pen and holds her hand out to Andi. Across her palm in red ink and neat print reads, Andi <3.

“You didn’t have to...”

”I wanted to! And besides,” Amber takes up Andi’s hand and holds her own up next to it. “I wanted us to match.”

With Amber being so close, their hands nestled right up against each other, those green eyes staring at her like that, Andi couldn’t help it. She giggled. Amber did too. At that, Andi felt herself glance down at her friend’s bright smile. It was quick enough that it could have gone unnoticed. Amber wasn’t so subtle. Andi didn’t want to mix thoughts with facts, but she presumed the blonde didn’t care for subtlety.

”You two,” Cyrus stares over at them with his chin resting in his hand.

”Amber!”

”I have to go. But I’ll swing by your place after school.” Amber squeezes Andi’s arm before heading to table seven.

Her friends wear smug smirks as Andi sits back down at their table. She ignores them as she watches Amber work, observing how she acts with customers. Trying to not let it go to her head when all frustration visibly leaves the blonde as soon as she catches her staring, and she grins back.

Buffy loudly sips the last dregs of her milkshake until Andi pays her attention. “Aren’t you glad I called you out for having a pen.”

 


End file.
